I’ve pl🅠ayed a l🐻ot of open world exploration games. Skyrim, Fallout, No Man’s Sky - they were all great for exploration, for getting down in the dirt and teasing out every last bit of information I could from the land. But they all lacked a certain magic th♕at’s hard to describe. It felt more like a compulsion, like that was simply what you did in those games so you did it unthinkingly.
Pokémon was different though. Every game was open world, albeit only providing you with a grid to explore up until very recently, but you wanted to explore n𓃲ot because that was what you’re supposed to do but because you never knew what you’d find or who you’d meet. Maybe you’d find a brand new TM to teach your Pokémon a new move, or maybe you’d find a fellow trainer eager to do battle.
Or maybe you’d find a legendary Pokémon, ripe for the taking☂, and you’d pray to whatever gods you held dear you had enough ultra bal✱ls to bag the sucker. That’s why I always took 100 wherever I went.
Of course, even the most devoted explorer can still mi𒈔ss a few things. Pokémon is a ser♏ies notorious for cleverly hiding it’s juiciest secrets from trainers, and it’s totally possible to play a game several times and never find everything there is to find.
Hꦕere are a few locat﷽ions you might have missed in your earlier playthroughs.
20 The Ruins Of Alph - Behind Every Door Is A Story
Found in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, the Ruins of Alph are home to the Unown, a mysterious Pokémon that seems to be shaped like letters. And also the name of the place is the first ဣfour letters of the word "alphabet". A little on the nose there.
Ok, so the place isn't exactly a hotbed of a paranormal activity, but there's plenty of secrets found in the ruins. Within each chamber found in Alph is a secret room that requ𒀰ires the player to use a specific item🐭 or move to open. In the northernmost ruin, you can go to the inscription at the end of the chamber and use an Escape Rope to open the door.
In the southern ruins across the lake, you can use Flash to open the chamber, while the other two chambers need to be accessed from Uni♛on Cave. For one of those chambers, you'll need a Water Stone to open the door, and the last one will require you to have Ho-Oh in your party.
19 Union Cave - Lapras Awaits
Union Cave isn’t just for get꧂ting access to goodies in the Ruins of Alph ꧙in HeartGold and SoulSilver - it’s also where you 💞find Lapras, one of the rarest and most sought-after water/ice types. But it’s easy to miss if you don’t have the right HMs or you’re just not 🅰in the habit of diving to the deepest reaches of dungeons.
Union Cave can be found just off Route 32 or Route 33 (it actually connects the two routes - hence the name Union Cave). Once inside you’ll n༒eed to find the southernmost steps which will take you to a small pond and a few ace trainers. You’ll need Surf to go across and reach the second basement level. Once there you’ll again need to find the southernmost area where there’s a large pool, and in the center of that pool is Lapras.
18 Whirl Islands - Where Lugia Guards The Seas
To find Lugia in HeartGold and SoulSilver will🃏 require a trip to Whirl Islan💯ds, so named for the dangerous whirlpools that surround them. Accessing them will require the HM Surf as well as Whirlpool to cross the dangerous rapids. You’ll also need Rock Smash to get through the various rocks that block your path, as well as smash open them for hidden items.
It doesn’t matter which island you decide to enter from, but getting around the first basement floor can be a daunting task without a map. There are two ladders you’ll need to find, and both are near the southern area of the map. Once you find one things get easier as the second floor is fairly sꦛtraightforward and leads you directly to Lugia. However, you’ll need the Silver Wing from Goldenrod Radio, and the Tidal Bell 𒉰from the Kimono Girls in Ecruteak city to make the legendary Pokémon appear.
17 Finding Mew - The Most Legendary Of Pokémon
This ꦦis﷽ going to sound strange, but finding Mew in the original Pokémon Red/Blue is really difficult because he’s technically nowhere. You can never find him anywhere in the game because he doesn’t spawn anywhere, and the only way to legitimately obtaiꦐn Mew is by having Nintendo directly trade one to you at an event.
Note I said difficult, but not impossible to obtain Mew. There are you can exploit to get a Mew of your own without Nintendo’s help (which they probably won’t provide even if you ask nicely, given how old the game is). Two methods involve inputtin꧃g hex code into your ancient Gameboy, while the other two involve a complica🍌ted series of actions that, if done correctly, will cause Mew to spawn and attack.
16 Nameless Cavern - The Most Ironic Cavern
In Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, there are a bunch of islands collectively called "mirage islands" that appear tota🍨lly at random. That is, you can be soaring on the back of Latios or Latias on Route 126 and not see one the first time through, but then see one again on your return trip.
However, there are specific Mirage Islands that 🐬will appear if your Pokémon team has met certain conditions. For Nameless Cavern to appear you must have three Pokémon with maximum friendship.
The Cavern itself is fairly straightforward, but at the back is a "mysterious ring" that will allow you to fight either Uxie, Azelf, or M💃esprit depending on the time of day. From 4 AM to 7:59 PM you fight Mesprit, from 8:00 PM to 8::59 PM you’ll fight Uxie, and from 9:00 PM to 3:59 AM you♑’ll fight Azelf.
15 Flyinium Z - The Flightiest Of Zs
The more recent Pokémon games like Sun and Moon are 🦹a little less tricky for hiding stuff from trainers, but there are still a few notable exceptions to the rule. Flyinium Z is one of them.
To acquire the crystal you'll need to head to Ten Carat Hill on Melemele Island and also have Machamp Shove unlocked. There's a massive rock blocking your path which Machamp can push out of your way, and that will open the way to Ten🐠 Carats Hill: Farthest Hollow. In the middle of the hollow is a pedestal, and on the pedestal iꦚn Flyinium Z.
However, you’ll also need Taurus Charge unlocked before you’ll even be able to access Ten Carat Hill, so this hi♏dden area will have 🐼to wait a bit.
14 Hidden Grottos - It’s In The Name
Ever since Gen III all Pokémon have something called “abilities” that allow them to do something special, like find items after every battle (Pickup) or get ♏a speed boost when hit with an Electric move (Motor Drive). Some Pokémon have Hidden Abilities that do something rarely found and can b🌜e entirely beneficial. Obtaining those coveted Hidden abilities was often difficult as they had a random chance to spawn in certain situations.
Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 changed that with Hidden Grottos. The Grottos are found all throughout the Unova region and can be pretty tricky to spot - you basic🍸ally have to walk up to a bunch of suspicious trees and hope for the best. But if you find one, they not only contain items but any Pokémon you fight there will have a hidden ability.
13 Cerulean Cave - Finding Mewtwo Is Real Work
For much of Pokémon history, Mewtwo was the most powerful 'mon a trainer c𓃲ould seek. To this day it remains one of the top Psychic types available, but getting to him h꧋as always been a difficult proposition.
Mewtwo can usꦓually be found in Cerulean Cave, but getting access to that cave often required the trainer to jump through several hoops. For Gen I it was just a simple🅷 matter of becoming the League champion, but starting with FireRed and LeafGreen things got more complicated. First, you'd have to get the Network Center on Sevii Islands operational again, and that required you to find the Ruby And Sapphire from Mt. Ember and the Team Rocket Warehouse.💛 Then you'll be able to access Cerulean Cave and find your war tಌo the bottom to fight Mewtwo.
12 Mirage Island - No✃t To Be Confused With Mirage Iꦇslands
Most trainers will speak to Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald as the heyday of hidden Pokémon locations, and it's easy to see why. In Gen III there was an entire island that would have aꦡ totally random chance to spawn, which was the only place to get the Liechi Berry in that generation.
The only way to know if the island has spawned is to check with the old man in Pacifidlog Town and ask if he can see the island. If he does, it'll stay available for the entire day, gi🅷ving the player ample opportunity to hustle over there and harvest Liechi Berries.
Mirage Island is also the only place where Wynauts can be caught in the wild, although youꦦ do get one in egg form fro𝔍m an old couple in Lavaridge Town.
11 👍Trial Chamber - Terrakion Doesn’t Ta♉ke No Guff From Nobody
In Pokémon Black and White getting Terrakion is no easy feat. You must first get to Victory Road, a place filled with confusing corridors and doors and cavern entrances that lead in and out of a cave system that seems to wind through the mountainside🥃 like an ant hill. Then once you’ve made your way nearly to the top, there’s an entrance blocked by a boulder that you can use Strength to get past. On the other side is the Trial Chamber.
However, as with most Pokémon games, it’s not as simple as that. First, you must have defeated Cobalion in Mistralton Cave before the Chamber even becomes accessible. Once you’ve done that then you can enter, but make sure you bring a boatload of ultra🌠 balls to even attempt to capt🌱ure Terrakion.